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The longitudinal dynamics and natural history of clonal haematopoiesis.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Fabre, Margarete A 
de Almeida, José Guilherme 
Fiorillo, Edoardo 
Mitchell, Emily 
Damaskou, Aristi 

Abstract

Clonal expansions driven by somatic mutations become pervasive across human tissues with age, including in the haematopoietic system, where the phenomenon is termed clonal haematopoiesis1-4. The understanding of how and when clonal haematopoiesis develops, the factors that govern its behaviour, how it interacts with ageing and how these variables relate to malignant progression remains limited5,6. Here we track 697 clonal haematopoiesis clones from 385 individuals 55 years of age or older over a median of 13 years. We find that 92.4% of clones expanded at a stable exponential rate over the study period, with different mutations driving substantially different growth rates, ranging from 5% (DNMT3A and TP53) to more than 50% per year (SRSF2P95H). Growth rates of clones with the same mutation differed by approximately ±5% per year, proportionately affecting slow drivers more substantially. By combining our time-series data with phylogenetic analysis of 1,731 whole-genome sequences of haematopoietic colonies from 7 individuals from an older age group, we reveal distinct patterns of lifelong clonal behaviour. DNMT3A-mutant clones preferentially expanded early in life and displayed slower growth in old age, in the context of an increasingly competitive oligoclonal landscape. By contrast, splicing gene mutations drove expansion only later in life, whereas TET2-mutant clones emerged across all ages. Finally, we show that mutations driving faster clonal growth carry a higher risk of malignant progression. Our findings characterize the lifelong natural history of clonal haematopoiesis and give fundamental insights into the interactions between somatic mutation, ageing and clonal selection.

Description

Funder: European Research Council

Keywords

Aged, Aging, Clonal Hematopoiesis, Clone Cells, Genome, Human, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Middle Aged, Mutation, Phylogeny

Journal Title

Nature

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0028-0836
1476-4687

Volume Title

606

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
Wellcome Trust (104064/Z/14/Z)
European Commission Horizon 2020 (H2020) Societal Challenges (633964)
Cancer Research UK (23015)
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (RTF6006-19)
Medical Research Council (MC_PC_17230)